The Thing About Pam is a limited true-crime drama series that aired on NBC earlier this year. It is a dramatized show outlining the aftermath of the murder of Betsy Faria (Katy Mixon), a woman struggling with cancer, of which her husband Russ (Glenn Fleshler) was initially convicted. The show goes through the original trial, retrial, and the events that happened up through 2021, including her best friend Pam’s (Renée Zellweger) involvement in her friend’s death and how the prosecution investigated the case.
The series has had mixed reviews, from critics praising Zellweger’s performance as Pam to criticizing the show’s comedic tone, unsure of whether it is meant to be ironic or not. Betsy’s daughter Mariah Day has even spoken out about the series to KSDK News, commenting that she won’t be watching and the style the series took was surprising and felt mocking. In the seemingly constant stream of true-crime-related content, The Thing About Pam sought to separate itself from the crowd, but did it work in the way they intended?
While the series has certainly stood out, it probably hasn’t been in the way the team behind it had hoped. Here’s why The Thing About Pam feels more like a Christmas movie rather than a true-crime drama.
The Thing About Pam’s Narrator
NBC
Many true-crime shows have a narrator; it’s nothing new that The Thing About Pam has one. Usually, the narrator is someone connected to the case in some way, like the detective reflecting or the individual that was convicted trying to tell their story in a way that makes them look better. It’s someone that makes sense to tell the story, depending on the situation being dramatized.
The Thing About Pam’s narrator sounds straight out of a Christmas movie. Their opening statement sounds like it could be a line in “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” or the introduction to a cozy Hallmark holiday film read by the “Santa” character. And it’s not all in how it’s written. It’s mostly in the voice actor’s delivery. Their cadence and tone sound like something you would hear in The Grinch or Frosty the Snowman, not a true-crime drama series that is about a serious topic.
It’s even more bewildering when you realize who the narrator is. It’s the iconic voice of Dateline’s Keith Morrison. He was the one to cover the case on Dateline in 2019 and hosted the podcast on the topic. He is not a Christmas movie narrator. Even though his voice is known for true-crime coverage, which is technically what he’s doing here, it melds wonderfully into what someone might expect with a Christmas film, even if that may not have been what producers or Morrison were going for.
The Timeline
Because the crime happened two days after Christmas, the series opens in a snowy neighborhood filled with Christmas decor. People tend not to take their decorations down right away, so as the crime and following days play out, there are still Santa Claus blow-up lawn ornaments and snow as Russ is arrested, giving the series a very Christmas-like air.
This isn’t represented in most of the series, but it sticks when it is one of the first things the audience sees. It’s difficult to picture the show as anything else when it leans so heavily into the theme from the start.
The Framing
There are several elements that were chosen by production that really add to the “this is something you watch at Christmas” factor. The more comedic tone is one of them, which has been criticized due to the subject matter the series covers. Liam Mathews wrote for TV Guide that the “ironic tone is off-putting at times.” At the same time, Roxana Hadadi for Vulture asks, “Is this meant to be a dark comedy about Hupp’s escalating lies and how easily people fell for them or a serious drama about how she destroyed a family because of her own pettiness and greed?” The tone leaves audiences asking if they should laugh be laughing at the almost upbeat nature of the show, a style that is common in Christmas movies.
The text that appears at the start of the episodes is colored with red and white, an odd choice, but it feeds into the Christmas narrative. That subtle red drop shadow of the text brings the season to mind immediately, even subconsciously at times. Even the last episode, which is years after the crime took place and is not in winter, feels like the end of a Christmas film. The montage where everyone ended up as of 2021 feels like the “One Year Later” epilogue some films have. Most true crime dramas have a black screen with white text that tells you the events that transpired after what you’ve seen in the series.
While this is not optimal holiday viewing for most people, it leans into the common elements of the films popular during the season. If The Thing About Pam isn’t your cup of hot chocolate, check out another true-crime series hitting Netflix this month.
